Doug Isbell/Don Savage
Headquarters, Washington, DC December 11, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1547)
Helen Worth
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel,
MD
(Phone: 240/228-5113)
NOTE TO EDITORS: N98-71
BRIEFING SCHEDULE FOR NEAR RENDEZVOUS WITH ASTEROID EROS
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft's rendezvous
with and orbit insertion of asteroid 433 Eros on Jan. 10, 1999,
will be previewed at a media briefing at 1 p.m. EST, Wednesday,
Dec. 16, 1998, at NASA Headquarters. The briefing will cover
mission status, planned activities and science objectives for the
first-ever asteroid rendezvous and orbit.
The briefing will originate from NASA Headquarters
Auditorium, 300 E St., SW, Washington, DC, and will be carried
live on NASA TV with two-way question and answer capability for
reporters covering the event from participating NASA centers.
Panelists will be:
* Dr. Carl Pilcher, Director, Solar System Exploration, NASA
Headquarters
* Dr. Robert W. Farquhar, NEAR Mission Manager, The Johns Hopkins
University Applied
Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, MD
* Dr. Andrew F. Cheng, Project Scientist, APL
* Dr. Donald K. Yeomans, Radio Science Team, NASA Jet Propulsion
Laboratory,
Pasadena, CA
* Dr. Joseph Veverka, Science Team Head, Cornell University,
Ithaca, NY
Eros Encounter Activities - January 10-14, 1999
The NEAR spacecraft, launched in February 1996, will enter
orbit around 433 Eros on Jan. 10, 1999, at 10 a.m. EST. Live
video feeds from the Mission Operations and Science Data centers
will be provided via a closed circuit to APL's Kossiakoff Center
Auditorium, where mission background and status reports also will
be presented throughout the morning starting at 8 a.m. EST for
reporters covering the rendezvous.
A press briefing at noon EST, Jan. 10, 1999, in the
Kossiakoff Auditorium will provide an early look at the rendezvous
and early science and mission activities. Color and black-and-
white images of Eros taken during NEAR's approach should be
available for distribution. The briefing will be broadcast live
on NASA TV with no two-way question-and-answer capability from
NASA Centers. Reporters planning to cover the rendezvous at APL
should call the Public Affairs office at 240/228-5113 for
accreditation.
A press briefing at 1 p.m. EST, Jan. 14, 1999, also in the
Kossiakoff Auditorium, will provide the latest images, mission
information and science results from the first 3-4 days of NEAR's
mission at Eros. The briefing will be broadcast live on NASA TV
(no two-way question-and-answer). Results will also be posted on
the NEAR Website at: http://near.jhuapl.edu
NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C, located
at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical polarization.
Frequency is 3880.0 megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz. Audio
of the broadcast will be available on voice circuit at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center on 407/867-1220, 1240, 1260.
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